Growth in the number of young adults entering the workforce, inflow of foreign funds into the print media, a proliferation in the number of publications and editions, rise in the readership levels saw ad earnings soar in the Print media. In the battle for the readers’ attention, advertising money is flowing where the consumer is and the print media which is symptomatic of this trend, leads the way.

According to the Survey, the Print media corners the lion’s share of ad spends. Of the total ad revenues in 2006 at Rs 14,505 crore, the Print cornered nearly half of the share at Rs 7,000 crore or 48.3 percent registering a 22.8 percent growth. So, while the percentage spend grew marginally by 0.5 percent compared to 2005, the total ad revenue grew by a hefty Rs 1,300 crore. The Print category saw a lot of action with new publications, editions, alliances and partnerships being sealed.

The English and Hindi language Press continued to dominate the rankings when compared to the share by ad space. The English language Press which registered a marginal rise in percentage ad space from 34.7 percent in 2005 to 35.2 percent in 2006 stood at the No. 1 position followed closely by the Hindi language Press with adÂ space of 24 percent, which was slightly less compared to 24.7 percent in 2005, indicating that marketers and advertisers continue to repose faith in both this media.

In terms of the Southern regional press, the Tamil Press led the pack with ad space at 9.8 percent, followed by Telugu at 6.6 percent, Malayalam at 6.3 percent and Kannada at 2.2 percent. Interestingly, the percentage ad spends in the case of the Tamil and the Malayalam Press declined marginally, while Marathi with 7.2 percent and Gujarati with 4.4 percent did reasonably well.

By percentage, ad space was less than oneÂ percent forÂ the Punjabi, Urdu and Assamese Press.

The top 17 publishing groups registeredÂ a growth rateÂ ranging from 10-25 per cent in 2006 over the previous year barring one, the Indian Express which remained unchanged. Bennett Coleman led the field by clocking a growth rate of 13 percent with total ad revenues for this group being nearly four times its nearest rival Jagran Prakashan.

The HT registered a higher ad revenue growth index at 20 percent compared to 10 percent in the previous year, while surprisingly the ad revenue growth index of the top two players like Bennett Coleman and Jagran Prakashan declined to 13 and 11 percent compared to 17 and 26 percent the previous year.

Some of the groups which showed a prominent increase in ad revenue growth index when compared to 2005-04 were Deccan Chronicle which increased by 53 percent and The Sandesh by 38 percent.

Interestingly, The Hindu maintained the advertising revenue growth index at five percent as in the last year and The Indian Express showed no gains in ad revenue growth index over the previous year.

In sum, ad revenues continue to grow with larger players consolidating their position and the English and Hindi Press topping the rankings.